Broadcasting legend Jim Hughson officially retires

Legendary CBC and Sportsnet play by play announcer Jim Hughson has officially announced his retirement from broadcasting after more than four decades.

I've got to say... colour me surprised...

Obviously Hughson has been around the game a long time, but he's still relatively young at 64 years old. Past legends like Bob Cole and Danny Gallivan were essentially pushed into retirement, but it sounds like Hughson has a different plan for his golden years than to travel and call hockey games from high above.

Whatever his reasons and whatever your personal opinion is on Hughson, he is without a doubt one of the most respected broadcasters in hockey history. He's been calling NHL hockey games since the early 1980s and has been a staple of Hockey Night in Canada for nearly two decades now. I understand that he's not the most popular with Toronto Maple Leafs fans due to some botched calls over the years, but to me he's light years ahead of almost anyone else in the business. As far as play by play goes I'm partial to Chris Cuthbert, but Hughson is right there for me in terms of quality and professionalism. Add to the fact that Hughson's voice will forever be linked to some of the biggest moments in NHL history and there's denying the impact that this man has had on the game.

If you need a reminder just how good Hughson was at his best, check out this incredible highlight package:

Personally I get chills at the raw emotion in Hughson's voice during that first clip when he shouts out, "Burrows shoots... SCOOOOOOOOOORES! There's nothing quite like a simple "He shoots, he scores!" to really drive things home and for me nobody's voice rings in my head as much as Hughson's does when it comes to that phrase.  

The more I think about it though maybe I shouldn't be surprised that Hughson has elected to retire. The writing must have been on the wall for him this past Spring when Sportsnet and CBC confirmed that Hughson would not get any assignments in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, opting instead to go with Chris Cuthbert and Harnarayan Singh. Whatever the case, all the best to Hughson in retirement. You've earned it, Hughey!